The System Is the Devil

"That would be the 'Beginner Body Tempering Potion' produced by Canglang Pharmaceuticals..."

The saleswoman picked up a glass bottle filled with pale blue, crystalline liquid and introduced it to Shen Qian.

According to her, Beginner Body Tempering Potions like this were most effective the first time they were consumed, increasing physical fitness by roughly 5% to 8%. They could be taken a second time after three months, after which they would lose their effect.

Shen Qian did the math in silence and was secretly startled.

Taking himself as an example, the system-refined "Stamina Potion" had achieved an astonishing 18% effect!

That was simply outrageous.

Canglang Pharmaceuticals was, after all, one of the world's top 500 companies and a major name in China's pharmaceutical industry. The students in Shen Qian's class with even a little family money seemed to use its potions.

"Then how much does one bottle cost?" Shen Qian asked.

"You're a high school student, right, little brother? We've got a promotion going on lately. This potion normally costs 80,000 Huaxia Coins, but with a student ID, you can get it for just 68,888!" The saleswoman smiled sweetly and pointed to the advertisement board beside her.

Though he knew such potions were expensive, the price still made Shen Qian click his tongue in disbelief.

His parents had worked hard for ten years, and all the savings they had managed to accumulate came to only a few tens of thousands.

After silently memorizing the ingredients list on the bottle, Shen Qian set it down and turned to leave.

"Student, won't you really consider it?" the saleswoman called after him anxiously. "A Body Tempering Potion needs at most two months to fully take effect. Even if you're preparing for the Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, there's still plenty of time!"

"Two months to take effect?"

The moment Shen Qian heard that, he walked even faster.

A group of people approached him. The man at the front had an elegant temperament, gold-rimmed glasses, and the air of a big shot. The fat man beside him bent forward slightly as he rapidly explained something in a low voice. Shen Qian vaguely caught words like "sales volume" and "promotion."

Perhaps it was just his imagination, but the man with the gold-rimmed glasses seemed to give him several extra looks.

The two sides passed each other, but Shen Qian soon stopped again when he heard the saleswoman behind him address the group as "President Ding" and "Manager."

With a thought, Shen Qian turned around and walked over.

"Hello, sir."

"Is there something you need?"

The surprise in Ding Anbai's eyes flashed away, replaced by amusement. He turned to look at the boy.

Under everyone's gaze, Shen Qian felt that he had been somewhat abrupt, but he still forced himself to say, "Could I have one of your business cards?"

Ding Anbai scrutinized Shen Qian for several moments. Shen Qian did not know if it was his imagination, but he always felt there was something in the other man's gaze.

Ding Anbai shook his head slightly, yet still took out a business card and handed it to Shen Qian. He then waved his hand and turned away without a word, signaling for the fat manager to continue.

Shen Qian had not expected to obtain the business card of such an important-looking figure in the pharmaceutical industry so easily. Though he found the man's strange attitude somewhat odd, his goal had been achieved, so he thanked him and left the pharmacy.

As the boy disappeared and the conversation came to a pause, the fat man who had been speaking with Ding Anbai could not help asking, "Do you know that boy?"

Ding Anbai nodded, then shook his head, saying something that left the fat man utterly bewildered:

"What a greater pity."

"Ding Anbai, General Manager of Canglang Pharmaceuticals' China Southwest South District."

Shen Qian put away the business card and pondered as he walked home.

Asking for the card had been a spur-of-the-moment decision. In truth, there were still many uncertain factors involved.

Shen Qian had already determined that the formula for the system-produced "Stamina Potion" absolutely crushed every Body Tempering Potion currently on the market.

A nearly 20% improvement, and instead of requiring two months, it only needed a single night to take effect. More terrifying still, the Stamina Potion could be taken up to three times before breaking through to become a martial artist and would remain effective each time.

Such medicinal effects would surely shock the entire world. It could probably save millions of Xiao-somethings, Ye-somethings, and Su-somethings from having their engagements called off...

Without exaggeration, the formula Shen Qian possessed alone could fetch an astronomical price if he put it up for sale.

But the problem was that things were definitely not that simple.

Where had the formula come from? How did he know it? How could he ensure that the profits would certainly belong to him...

Just thinking about it gave Shen Qian a headache.

Although the order of this world had been rebuilt after the Cataclysm, chaos still lingered everywhere.

Especially in an era where everyone practiced martial arts, pursuing absolute civility and courtesy was itself a paradox.

As if to confirm Shen Qian's thoughts, the wristband in his inner jacket pocket vibrated.

Don't ask why he had stuffed a wristband into his pocket. The answer was that he was poor and could not afford to lose it.

Shen Qian took out the wristband. It displayed an emergency police broadcast, roughly stating that a group of dangerous Scavengers had infiltrated the city yesterday. The police were conducting a full search, and citizens were asked to remain vigilant, watch their surroundings, and report anything suspicious promptly.

Scavengers. Though Shen Qian had never seen one, he was no stranger to the term.

After the Cataclysm, the regions beyond the cities had become extraordinarily harsh places to survive: terrifying radiation, extreme weather, volcanoes, earthquakes...

That was the territory of mutated ferocious beasts, a forbidden zone for humanity.

Yet even within those forbidden zones, people still lived.

Most were vicious criminals wanted by the law, forced to flee into the wilderness in search of a sliver of life.

Normally, Scavengers could never infiltrate a city. But yesterday, the entire city's power system had collapsed, giving some of them an opening to exploit.

Shen Qian did not feel much about it. None of that had anything to do with him anyway.

It hurt!

It hurt so much!

The instant Shen Qian opened his eyes, he could not help groaning.

He was lying on the rooftop terrace of his apartment building once again, his entire body drenched in sweat. That aching exhilaration after near-total exhaustion gave Shen Qian an entirely new first-time experience.

Having learned his lesson, Shen Qian did not hesitate before summoning the system panel, wanting to find out what the version of himself who had just finished dinner at home had gone and done.

As expected, another file folder had appeared on the bookshelf of the AFK Record, labeled with today's date: "22970309."

As he focused his thoughts, the folder opened and lines of text appeared.

"Note: There was no Combat Experience in this AFK session. To conserve energy, aside from the 'Training Memory' portion, only written records have been retained for the host's review.

You left home and arrived at the rooftop terrace (18:52)

After warming up, you began narrow-grip push-ups (19:01)

You completed a total of 923 push-ups in 10 sets (19:49)

You rested (19:50--20:00)

After resting, you began jump squats (20:01)

You completed a total of 1,024 squats in 10 sets (20:38)

You continued resting (20:39--20:52)

After resting, you began pull-ups (20:53)

You completed 404 pull-ups and broke the clothes-drying pole (21:08)

(Click to obtain 'Training Memory')"

This AFK Record was exceedingly brief, but its contents made Shen Qian doubt his entire life.

In other words, over the past two hours, he had completed five or six times the amount of daily training that normally took him four hours?!

Wait... what the hell did it mean by breaking the clothes-drying pole?

Shen Qian turned his head with difficulty. Just then, a gust of wind swept past, and something that seemed to be made of lace covered his eyes.

After pulling the unidentified object off his head, Shen Qian looked at the collapsed drying rack and the mess strewn across the rooftop. He let out a long sigh and covered his eyes again.